This paper tries to compare the environmental impacts of energy production using agricultural biomass and energy production using traditional reactor systems (natural gas and fuel oil) by using the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. In order to make this comparison, the impact assessment methods CML 2 BASELINE 2000 (problem oriented method) and ECOINDICATOR 99 (damage oriented method) are ...

Boulder, Colorado: U.S. Distributed Renewables Forecast Published Navigant Research, a market research and consulting firm in Boulder, recently published the “U.S. Distributed Renewables Deployment Forecast, 2016-2025.” The report notes that deployment of distributed renewables, such as wind, solar and anaerobic digestion facilities, in the U.S. has accelerated in the last ...

Compared to countries like Germany and Denmark, the United States and Canada have a long way to go in creating the fundamental policy incentives and regulatory mandates that will encourage market development for anaerobic digestion (AD). Someone recently asked me how many years it would take to deploy AD systems on farms in North America that are large enough to economically use them. Given ...

ANAEROBIC digestion of dairy manure and food processing residuals in Michigan is not a new undertaking. Over the years, 11 farm digesters were constructed in the state, of which four are still operational, reports Michelle Crook of the Michigan Department of Agriculture in a presentation in the spring of 2007. “Three of the operating digesters are for livestock manure and one is for food ...

LENDERS are generally well disposed to projects that diversify revenues while lowering costs and mitigating risks. Add a ready source of equity and you are well on the way toward financing a project that is a win-win proposition for the lender and the project developer. Such is the case with the anaerobic digester project at Geerlings Hillside Farm (GHF). The Geerlings's 8,000-head hog farm is ...

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is home to about 7,000 dairy farms with an average herd size of less than 100 cows. While nutrient and odor management are of great importance to these farms, their overall economic viability appears to be the primary factor driving installation of anaerobic digesters over the past few years. “Pennsylvania has 30 dairy digesters and about 5 swine digesters ...

THROUGH its award-winning Cow Power program, Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS), a Vermont utility headquartered in the city of Rutland, is helping dairy farmers diversify their incomes by turning manure into electricity. The farmers process manure in anaerobic digesters to generate power, which CVPS customers voluntarily pay a premium to purchase. In addition to income from electricity sales, ...

IN the late 1990s, Dan Eastman and two colleagues were researching business opportunities in the renewable energy industry. They were looking for a commercially viable technology that could take renewable energy from an experimental phase to a solid business investment. In 1999, Eastman and his partners founded Microgy, Inc., with its base in Wisconsin. The company licensed the Xergi anaerobic ...

Wild fluctuations in prices for agricultural products and mushrooming prices for energy can greatly influence the economics of biogas plants. Long term reliable profitability calculations are becoming increasingly difficult. Generally speaking, however, rising energy prices have a positive effect on the economics of well designed biogas projects. By selecting low cost feedstock, the profitability ...

There are 13 research institutes under the GDAAS, including specific foods and crops and fertilizer research. The main mission of the institution is to carry out non-profit research around agricultural science and techniques. As one of the most important agricultural crops institutions, the Crops Research Institute has been focusing on the development of new varieties of crops, cultivation ...

New project of Soil And Water Conservation District will help control odors and improve water quality while generating biogas with an innovative system. A bioenergy vision that started several years ago is finally being built at the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District headquarters in Auburn, New York. Jim Hotaling, Executive Director, has long envisioned a community digester ...

THIRTY years ago, when I was a college student studying ways to convert manure to electricity, we speculated that the 1970s would be the decade of the innovators, the 1980s for the launch of operating projects, and the 1990s when the mainstream adopted the technology. Now I think our predictions for the mainstream were ten to 15 years premature — but it is happening! During the 1990s, the ...

Farmer-owned renewable energy enterprises are increasing rapidly — with alternative fuels such as biodiesel, ethanol and distiller’s grains becoming mainstream. MINNESOTA is home to 16 ethanol plants generating approximately 550 million gallons per year. Most of these new facilities are producer-owned. Many others are under construction or are in the planning process. In 2005, Minnesota farmers ...

For anyone visiting the World Dairy Expo, there can be a lot to digest. The world's largest dairy trade show begins Tuesday at Alliant Energy Center. Around 65,000 people are expected to attend. There are 752 companies and organizations exhibiting and there will be approximately 3,000 cows on the grounds. There will be 14 cattle shows, eight virtual farm tours and the Badger Dairy Club ...

ANAEROBIC DIGESTER ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUS The University of Guelph’s Ridgetown Campus, part of the Ontario Agriculture College (OAC), received an investment of more than US$2.6 million for construction of an anaerobic digester through the Federal Development Agency for Southern Ontario. OAC, with its Center for Agricultural Renewable Energy and Sustainability, views the digester as “a ...